


The Last Fourth

by TheGreatPuzzle



Category: Captain America (2011), Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Fireworks, Fourth of July, Gen, I apologize for the title., I cannot name things, M/M, if you think it's not funny remember that i'm canadian
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-04
Updated: 2012-07-04
Packaged: 2017-11-09 04:37:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 807
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/451367
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheGreatPuzzle/pseuds/TheGreatPuzzle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Thought this would be your kind of scene. You know, flags and fireworks and good old American pride and all that.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Last Fourth

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Tara](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tara/gifts).



> This is for Tara. She prompted me when I was computer-less and so I wrote her...this. So. Here you go. 
> 
> Sorry in advance if I offend anyone with my lack of writing abilities. Also, this is unbetaed and also I will likely be changing bits for the next couple days.
> 
> p.s. I can't space very well. I have no concept of time. So. Sorry.

“Thought this would be your kind of scene. You know, flags and fireworks and good old American pride and all that.” Steve didn’t turn. The voice had been sudden but not unexpected; he’d heard the elevator ding when it arrived and had discerned with little difficulty the person most likely to be inside.

“Hi Tony.” Tony moved from where he’d been standing just behind him and dropped down to sit beside him, dangling his feet over the edge. Steve resisted the urge to grab his shoulder, to remind him that, unlike Steve, he wouldn’t survive the fall. However he did nothing. They’d talked about this before. Mentioning it now wouldn’t do anyone any good.

“So what brings you up here?” Steve said, gesturing broadly at their surroundings. It was a nice view from the roof of the newly rebuilt and consequently named Avengers Tower.

“Thor’s disappeared somewhere; possibly Asgard, possibly the residence of a certain female scientist. Natasha is in the weight room, being Russian and beating up interns; Barton and Coulson have fucked off to Canada of all places, to take care of a possible emerging threat. Finally, Bruce is in the lab, most likely making the lab assistants cry with awe and envy of his sheer awesomeness.” Tony said this all without pausing for breath. For a moment, Steve was forcefully reminded of a young Howard Stark, speaking a thousand words a second and leaving everyone else -Steve included- far behind.

  The moment passed and Steve looked at Tony, who did not once in the whole rant, answer his question. Tony saw him the look Steve was giving him out of the corner of his eye and sighed. “I was bored. And like I said, I figured this would be your kind of day.” Steve could see Tony glance at him out of the corner of his eye. “Evidently not.” Tony fell silent, not asking for an explanation; and Steve remained quietly seated, not offering any. They sat this way for a while, listening to the festivities taking place all across the city.

 Eventually Tony sighed and heaved himself to his feet, accepting that he’d get nothing from the super soldier tonight.

“My last Fourth of July,” Steve started and corrected himself. “My last _real_ Fourth of July, was in 1942. Bucky and I went down to the pier and watched the firework show.”

Steve could see Tony turning, sitting down again beside him. He didn’t turn to look at him, instead looking straight ahead. He wasn’t sure why he was offering this information and he knew that if he so much as glanced at Tony he’d clam up.

“We sat there for what must have been a good hour, just watching the sky. The war seemed far away then and almost unreal. We were safe as houses over here, no chance of being recruited, me because I was, well, me, and Bucky because he was recovering from a broken arm. After the show was over we walked around, got some ice cream. We both knew that come next Fourth of July, he’d be gone, and I’d be there. Of course in the end we were together the next Fourth of July, his last Fourth of July. Instead of fireworks, we had bombs instead of ice cream we had burn cream. Actually I had completely forgotten it was the Fourth until just before midnight, when Bucky showed up at my tent and handed me a little American flag he’d nicked from someone’s office. And then we sat in my tent and listened to the bombs drop until we both fell asleep.” Steve fell silent again. There was a pause, which in itself seemed to be part of the conversation.

“That must happen a lot,” remarked Tony. “Remembering people, events that only still exist in your mind,” he clarified. Steve grunted his agreement. There was another loaded pause. “If it makes you feel any better, I was once blown up by a bomb that literally had my name on it.” Steve couldn’t suppress a snort of laughter.

“Only you Tony.” Tony nodded in agreement.

“Try and top that soldier boy.” Steve smiled again and launched into a story about the time he and the Commandos were taking out a Hydra facility and Dum Dum Dugan’s stomach growled so loudly that a passing Hydra agent heard it and pulled the alarm.

As Steve gesticulated his way through their capture and subsequent escape, Tony couldn’t help but smile at him. He knew what it meant when his heart flipped when Steve smiled or laughed and he also knew that now was the time to disregard his traitorous heart. Tonight was about making Steve smile.

 _Mission accomplished._ He thought as Steve mimed a particularly large explosion. _Now if I could just get Bruce to relax once in a while…_


End file.
